Ultimately, though, the evening was a celebration of writing, and Gilligan ended with a few words about the craft.

"I just think that if I got to choose what'd go on my tombstone, above all these other hyphenate options that I might get to choose, writer is chief amongst them. That's the one I'd want, and that's the the one that's most important to me and the most special," he said. "This is for every writer out there."

For more from Gilligan and the WGA Awards, watch the video above and come back for more WGA highlights.